(Business in Cameroon) - The Cameroonian Minister of Water and Energy, Gaston Eloundou Essomba, presided last July 5 over the commissioning of the Nkongsamba-Bafoussam section of the 225 kV electricity transmission line between Bekoko (Littoral) and Bafoussam (West).

“Before, the West, Northwest, Southwest, and Littoral regions were facing disruptions. This has long impacted the quality of power supply to households and businesses, and consequently the development prospects of the distribution networks. This new line will increase the energy transit to the West, Southwest, and Northwest regions, and reduce voltage drop occurrences in the regions," explains Eneo, the power utility.

In addition to improving both the service quality and the distribution network through new investments planned by Eneo, the initiative is expected to improve the financial balance of the electricity sector in Cameroon with the shutdown of the 20 MW thermal power plants in Bamenda (Northwest) and Bafoussam (West). Indeed, shutting down these plants will make it possible to achieve significant savings on fuel purchases. Towards this same objective, Eneo also plans to operate the 80 MW Limbe thermal power plant (southwest) at 50% of its capacity.

Work on the new transmission line was financed by the State of Cameroon and a loan from Eximbank India, for a total amount of CFA59 billion. It was carried out by the Indian company Kaltaparu and consisted of the construction of a 225 kV (very high voltage) line between Nkongsamba and Bafoussam (Bekoko-Nkongsamba is already at 225 kV, ed). This is in addition to the existing 90 kV line, whose capacity had become insufficient. 

BRM